[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 142 (Wednesday, September 30, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S7049]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mrs. McCaskill, 
        Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. 
        Stabenow, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Hirono, and Ms. 
        Warren):
  S. 2110. A bill to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974 to provide for greater spousal protection under defined 
contribution plans, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Women's 
Pension Protection Act of 2015.
  Out in Washington State, I recently heard from a woman named Cathy. A 
few years ago, Cathy said she got a taste of what it is like to have 
serious doubts about her future in retirement. Her husband was 
unemployed. On one income, they were trying to pay the bills, pay for 
health insurance, and pay for college tuition for their younger son. 
Every month, Cathy said they had to dip further and further into their 
retirement savings. She said she would stay awake at night, worrying 
how they were going to make it all work.
  When I hear stories like Cathy's, it reaffirms for me what we should 
be working on in Congress. We need to grow our economy from the middle 
out, not the top down. Our country should work for all families, not 
just the wealthiest few. That is especially true for seniors--who, 
after a lifetime of hard work, deserve to live healthy, full, and 
financially secure lives.
  I believe a secure retirement is one of the surest hallmarks of a 
strong middle class. But seniors today are facing some daunting 
challenges, just like Cathy.
  Many Americans simply don't have enough savings. They are relying on 
thin Social Security checks that barely last until the end of the 
month. Sometimes, they are forced to choose between paying for 
groceries or paying for a prescription.
  Too often, it is women who struggle the most with financial hardship 
in retirement, more so than men. Why is this? Well, for one, women live 
longer than men. So, they are more likely to outlive their retirement 
savings.
  But there are also some systemic challenges we need to address to 
make sure women are better able to have a secure retirement. During 
their working years, women earn less than men. Today, women make just 
78 cents for every dollar a man makes. That is just patently unfair. 
Women are more likely than men to work low-wage jobs. In fact, women 
comprise two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers. It is plain and simple 
math: Lower wages make it hard to support a family, let alone save 
enough for retirement. Women are also much more likely to work part-
time, sometimes so they can take on caregiving responsibilities.
  This earnings gap leads to a retirement gap later in life. Don't 
forget, workers in low wage and part-time jobs, often don't have access 
to a retirement savings plan at work. A new GAO report shows that 
workers in low-wage and part-time jobs are among the least likely to 
participate in a workplace retirement plan. It is mainly because these 
plans are not offered or because they are not eligible. Keep in mind 
this is particularly problematic for women, because they make up the 
majority of low-wage and part-time workers.
  It is not that these workers don't want to save for their future. 
This same GAO report found that when given the opportunity, a majority 
of part-time workers and workers in low-wage jobs do participate in 
retirement plans. For a long time, people assumed that these workers 
would not take advantage of a workplace retirement account or that they 
couldn't afford to save. This report busts that myth. Instead, it is 
the lack of access to retirement plans that prevent many workers from 
saving.
  But, as if all that wasn't enough, 401k plans today lack basic 
consumer protections. I have heard from advocates who work with women 
whose husbands cashed out their 401k during a separation or right 
before a divorce. Right now, there is nothing in the law that prevents 
that from happening. That is just not right.
  Without consumer protections, both husbands and wives are at risk of 
having the rug pulled out from under them because their spouse made a 
financial decision without their knowledge.
  These challenges--from inequality in the workplace to gaps in 
consumer protections--won't just go away. In fact, they will only get 
worse until we resolve to do something about it for seniors today, for 
those who want to retire in the next few years, and for future 
generations.
  Thankfully, we can do something about it. We need to address the 
inequalities that women face during their working years. It is time to 
finally ensure women get equal pay for equal work. The Paycheck 
Fairness Act would tackle pay discrimination head-on. I hope we can all 
agree that in the 21st century, workers should be paid fairly for the 
work they do, regardless of their gender.
  We should raise the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. It will put more 
money in workers' pockets so they can spend it in their local 
communities and put more away for retirement. My bill will provide a 
strong floor--a Federal bare minimum--that workers and cities can build 
off of and go even higher where it makes sense--like in Seattle in my 
home State of Washington.
  It is time to make more progress on paid sick leave, so women aren't 
penalized for taking care of their families. I have introduced a bill 
called the Healthy Families Act to allow workers to earn paid sick 
days. Those solutions to empower women in today's workplace will pay 
off for their golden years to come.
  Today, I am proud to introduce a bill with a number of my Democratic 
women colleagues. It is called the Women's Pension Protection Act, and 
it would take three major steps to protect women's retirement security.
  First, my bill would expand spousal protections to cover defined 
contribution plans, like 401(k)s. These protections already exist for 
defined benefit plans, and it is just common sense to extend these 
protections to defined contribution plans as well. It would help 
improve access to retirement savings plans for part-time workers. This 
bill would improve women's financial literacy. With fewer traditional 
pensions, people will need to make some difficult financial decisions 
in retirement. So, increasing financial literacy will be very important 
in the years ahead.
  Ensuring women are able to access a secure retirement is part of my 
ongoing work to help our economy grow in the way we know is strongest: 
from the middle out, not the top down.
  Eighty years ago, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security 
Act into law. At the time, he called it ``a cornerstone in a structure, 
which is being built, but it is, by no means, complete.'' We added on 
to that original cornerstone with Medicare, Medicaid, and the Older 
Americans Act. Those programs laid the foundation for seniors to have 
solid footing in America's middle class.
  Now, it is time to build on that foundation. Because like FDR foresaw 
80 years ago, the structure of retirement security is still incomplete. 
We need to start the next phase to address the pressing challenges that 
seniors face today. I am going to be fighting to make sure more 
workers, more seniors and more families have access to a healthy, 
independent, and financially secure retirement. I am going to keep 
fighting to build an ever-stronger foundation for families in my home 
State of Washington State, and across the Nation, for generations to 
come.

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